How Minnesotan am I?

After having lived here for 10 or so years now, I have begun to look more like a Minnesotan, and less like a Westerner. I was contemplating the various signs this afternoon on a walk with my family. You be the judge:

Ways in which I am now a Minnesotan:

•I own one dress coat and one casual coat for each possible variation of temperature, season, and weather.

•The ratio of boots to other types of shoe in my house is roughly equal.

•I look forward to heavy snowfalls.

•I know what to do if I hit a patch of ice, driving or walking.

•My potluck hot-dishes are actually eaten and enjoyed. (You don’t wanna know how many of my early potlucks offerings came home untouched before I figured out the Midwestern palate.)

•I love going swimming in the winter (well, it is indoors, but still…)

•I know where all the bargains are to be had.

•I’ve eaten take-out from Mac’s Fish and Chips.

•I am planning to make sandbakkles for Christmas treats.

•I’ve been to see “Triple Espresso” and laughed myself sick.

•I have the Minnesotan accent. (Well, actually, I had the accent by the time we’d been here 3 weeks–I absorb accents like Brawny on spilled milk. When I worked next door to a Georgia boy, I sounded like a Peach myself. Now it’s Minnesotan, and you wouldn’t know that my mother wasn’t Swedish, doncha know.)

Ways in which I am not yet Minnesotan:

•I really really hate “the Mega-Mall” (Mall of America.)

•I prefer Dunn Bros. to Caribou.

•I can’t/won’t try lutefisk.

•There is no season in which I wear blaze orange as a safety measure.

•I don’t care how thick the ice is; if you are not Jesus, it is profoundly WRONG to walk on the surface of a lake!

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2 Comments

Joan DeWindt said,

oh yeah, you betcha. Minnesota has taken you bad. Laura Beth, have a little faith and at least try skating on the surface of a lake. It is not only not WRONG, it is a lot of fun, but if it is spring and the ice bounces you probably better get off.
Aunt Joan
PS I remember the Sunday in Alameda when you not only didn’t have a coat for every season and occasion, but you wore your play jacket to church. I was still terribly “Michigan” and shocked back then. You were three and thought church WAS playtime.

Joan DeWindt said,

Well, I have been watching your weather and wondering if you were still a converted Minnesotan??? It would seem the sun doesn’t work in your side of the country, right? Last fall you were mourning that you hadn’t been able to use your new skies. Is that still the case? Forgive my gloating. It hasn’t been exactly warm in either Alameda or Northern Florida either. We are heading for Phoenix where if the weather is cold, at least your parents will be warm. Love, Aunt Joan